dealing with the adversary

This is the discussion sheet I will use with my junior high Sunday School students on June 1. Its title is the title of the Bible Lesson that students of Christian Science have been studying since May 26. SH refers to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced

6-1-08 Sara Lincoln

Let’s put the title of this week’s lesson in active voice, beginning with “I denounce ...”

I denounce _________________ which means calling on the spirits of the so-called dead. I also denounce_______________________ and ___________________ which mean putting someone’s thought to sleep, because not one of these ‘isms’ honors God or man.

I remember Jesus’ instruction about how to find answers and feel satisfied. He said ‘they shall be filled and blessed who

Where is this instruction?

An adversary ‘opposes’ and does not ‘support’ __________ and ___________, SH 580: 28

Is an adversary a person or a state of thought?

Moses’ main adversary was _______________________.

Jesus’ main adversary was ________________________.

Mary Baker Eddy’s main adversary was __________________________________.

Your main adversary is __________________________.

An adversary appears to be a person with an _____________ motive. You may not be able to remove the adversary, but to protect yourself you can realize that “evil has no reality. It is neither ______________, _______________, nor _______________, but is simply a _______________, an _________________ of material sense.” SH 71: 2

About 2800 years ago, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were trying to make the people forget the Lord God of Israel and worship the god named Baal. Their great adversary was the prophet _____________ who went about the countryside proving the healing power of God. Silently review this story beginning in I Kings 18: 21, and tell us what Elijah wanted God to do.

Elijah proved to the people that God was present, powerful, loving, and that Elijah’s adversaries, the 450 prophets of Baal, could do nothing.

You and I, the prophets of today, are learning through Christian Science that the main adversary is m___________ m_________, “the false belief that m_________ is in matter and is both evil and good…” SH 103: 20

Jesus had to face an adversary and destroy it before he could begin his career of teaching, preaching, and healing. See Matt. 4: 1-11. The adversary is called the _______________ or ___________. What suggestions did it make to Jesus and why didn’t Jesus accept them?

You must be hungry: turn these stones into bread

You know God will take care of you: jump off this roof.

You deserve all the world’s power and glory: I’ll give them to you if you ask.

In confronting the devil, what words might Jesus have used from the definition of ‘devil’ in the Glossary?

Which of the Ten Commandments was Jesus remembering in the wilderness?

Jesus defeated the adversary in the wilderness (at the beginning of his career)

and again in the __________ (at the end of his time on earth).

About 20 years after Jesus ascended, an adversary of Christianity named ______________ experienced a bright light from heaven and heard Jesus call him to become a disciple and take the gospel to the Gentiles. Who were the Gentiles?

He took the new name of _____________ and began to travel around, teaching people the truth about Jesus and God.

Later, Paul wrote letters that now make up much of our New Testament. Some of these letters were written to the R_________________, C_________________________, G_________________, E_____________________, and P____________________.

What did you find most meaningful about what you learned new (or learned again) today?